The State Bird of Washington

30 Jun, 2026

As I mentioned in another thread, it's ridiculous the American Goldfinch is our state bird. It's not special to Washington: it lives everywhere in the continental US and is also the state bird of Iowa and New Jersey.

^{Here are two American Goldfinches I saw recently. The one on top is female and the one on bottom is male.}

So what bird should be the state bird of Washington? I propose the Varied Thrush. You may know it from the intro to Twin Peaks.

^{Twin Peaks bird: A female Varied Thrush}

^{Another female VT (not my photo)}

^{Male VT (my photo)}

Here's my reasoning:

• No state has the Varied Thrush as a permanent resident over as much of the state as Washington. It lives pretty much everywhere here for at least some of the year (it comes down to lower elevations when it's colder).
• It's a bird that mostly lives in the PNW, Canada and Alaska.
• The Varied Thrush isn't state bird for any US state.
• It's in the intro to a fun tv show set in the PNW.
• It's a very beautiful bird. The male has really vivid stripes, and the female has very nice subtle coloring.

So get out there and vote for Varied Thrush for Washington State Bird! Write your congressperson! I'm sure there's nothing better they could be doing.